Fifth Third Bancorp News

For the last two years, AmTrust Bank has been like a zombie. The size of the Cleveland bank's deposits and assets shrank nearly in half, and the bank was under the gun from regulators to improve.

Amy Schiffman has had a Fifth Third Bancorp credit card for eight years to guard against unexpected overdrafts on her checking account.

The news that our friend Charlie Gasparino broke Wednesday on CNBC, that Bank of America would repay $45 billion in TARP funds in part through the sale of $18.8 billion of securities, is helping lift the financial sector.

Since April, credit card issuers have been facing many delinquencies due to the downturn in the economy.

Shares of Bank of America Corp. rose sharply early Thursday, leading gainers among S&P 500 financial stocks and helping to lift the sector.

This article originally appeared on my site Credit Writedowns . AmTrust Financial, a privately held regional bank holding company based in Cleveland, has just filed for bankruptcy.

Several U.S. financial stocks including US Bancorp, American International Group and Fifth-Third Bancorp overcame weakness in the banking sector on Tuesday to close slightly higher, despite cautionary notes from analysts at both JP Morgan and Citigroup.

Credit Suisse analysts on Wednesday urged clients to buy and overweight regional banking stocks, saying that a number of credit metrics that have plagued the sector will improve steadily in 2010, and provide good returns.

Analysts at Citigroup on Tuesday upgraded the shares of BB&T Corp [s; bbt] and Fifth Third Bancorp /quotes/comstock/15*!fitb /quotes/nls/fitb , saying the shares are undervalued.

Amy Schiffman has had a Fifth Third Bancorp credit card for eight years to guard against unexpected overdrafts on her checking account.

Close See a sample reprint in PDF format. Order a reprint of this article now BUSINESS NOVEMBER 30, 2009, 12:12 P.M. ET By MATTHIAS RIEKER People's United Financial Inc.

The Federal Reserve has asked nine U.S. banks that were part of the stress tests to submit plans for repaying TARP funds, Bloomberg reports.

The Federal Reserve this month asked nine U.S. banks which were part of this year's stress tests to submit plans including a timetable to repay funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Bloomberg reports, citing a person familiar with the situation.

Those institutions which were able to "raise common equity and would continue to exceed capital buffers set in the stress tests," would have the option to settle their TARP borrowings soon.

Filed under: Wal-Mart , Amazon.com , Market matters , Citigroup Inc. , Regions Financial , Bank of America , Wells Fargo , Cramer on BloggingStocks , Financial Crisis TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the sooner banks repay TARP, the more likely they will power higher in 2010.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday the nation is in better financial shape than a year ago, but "significant economic challenges remain." Addressing the Economic Club of New York, Bernanke said bank lending remains constrained, economic activity is weak and unemployment is "much too high." Future setbacks in the economy are ...

Broadway star Faith Prince, a 1979 graduate of the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, will speak Dec.

Stocks have rallied substantially since their March lows, but Connor Browne, co-manager of Thornburg Value ) , continues to uncover undervalued names that offer significant upside.

Washington policy changes - and market reactions to them - will be the most important factors shaping the economy next year, Fifth Third Bank 's chief investment strategist told a gathering of Nashville clients today.

The Federal Reserve offered an update on its historic stress tests on Monday, saying nine of the 10 bank holding companies flagged as needing an additional capital cushion by the initial exercise have now met its requirements with GMAC LLC the lone exception.